Mid Season Racing Update

Local Teams Produce Wins

Kurt Niemeyer

Linda Mansfield contributed to this article

Cincy
area racing teams are setting a torrid pace this season in a variety of national
and international race series.Hoffman Auto Racing, Wright Motorsports, Paul's Automotive, Alliance
Autosport, Doran Racing and several area drivers and team managers have been
traveling across the country in search of victory lane.Some have been successful in their
endeavors while others are working to improve their results.We do a quick review half way through
the North American racing season of the Cincy area teams.

The
area's racing team Emeritus is Hoffman Auto Racing, based in Milford it has the
longest history of any of the area teams, starting in 1929 by August "Gus"
Hoffman. Multi-time USAC Sprint
Car Champions and the winningest Team in United States Auto Club (USAC) history
with 79 victories. The Hoffman
team started the year with a win at Ocala Florida in January and has continued
to run up front now that the USAC Sprint series has moved back to the Midwest
with the arrival of good racing weather.
The Mean Green, Mopar, Lykins Companies machine is always a threat to
end the night in the winner's circle, you can catch up with the Hoffman Auto
Racing Team at Lawrenceburg Speedway Lawrenceburg Indiana, July 15 and
September 29 and Eldora Speedway in Rossburg Ohio July 28 and September
22. There is nothing quite like
Sprint Cars on a dirt track for racing excitement, with two iconic tracks
within a 90 minute drive there is ample opportunity to delve into the experience. A review of the Hoffman's operation can
be seen here; http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=32z58W2trMI

For
maximum wins this year the Wright Motorsports team from Batavia is on a rampage
in the Porsche GT-3 Cup Challenge! This series features several races each race weekend, running
as a support race with the American LeMans Series, F1 Canada, Indycars and more
draws an international field of drivers.Since the races at Miller Motorsports Park, Tooele
Utah in early May the team has dominated the podium, making it difficult for
the other teams to just break into the top five on occasion. At Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca in
Monterrey California the team captured victories with drivers Sean Johnston, Madison
Snow and Melanie Snow, plus swept the top four positions in the Friday first
half of a double header weekend. http://www.youtube.com/watch?NR=1&v=RnyPpngMmKA&feature=endscreen

Wright Motorsports also
finished first and second in Saturday's race, as well as fourth and sixth overall.
Wright isn't the only one who will always remember Friday's race. It
marked the first victory ever for 21-year-old Sean Johnston of Mt. Shasta,
Calif., who took the checkered flag in a Wright Motorsports Porsche sponsored
by Driscoll's Berries 0.792 of a second before his teammate, Madison Snow,
crossed the start/finish line after 27 laps of competition. Snow, 16, of Lehi,
Utah, was the BBS pole award winner and he led the first seven laps in his
Universal Industrial Sales Porsche before Johnston got by him. A little further back two other Wright
Motorsports cars driven by Fernando Peña of Minneapolis and Kasey Kuhlman of
Cincinnati were locked in another battle. Peña finished third in a Porsche
sponsored by Colours, Inc., while Kuhlman came in fourth in the No. 15
sponsored by Kuhlsport and the Motorsports Country Club of Cincinnati. He
was just 0.381 of a second behind Peña at the checkered. Peña started fourth
and Kuhlman started sixth.

A single team fielding the
top-four finishers in a race is not unprecedented, but it is rare.
A very informal straw poll of 30 racing experts came up with only three other
times this has occurred: IndyCar's Andretti-Green Racing in 2005 in St.
Petersburg, Fla.; Team PTG in 2003 in a SCCA SPEED World Challenge GT race at
Infineon Raceway; and the factory Audi team this year in a World Endurance
Championship race in Spa, Belgium. Audi also swept the top four positions
at the 24 Hours of LeMans, but used two different teams and two different cars
in their success. There may have been others, but it's definitely uncommon.

Wright Motorsports showed the
fast way around the Circuit Gilles Villenueve in Montreal during the Canadian
Grand Prix Weekend After getting his first IMSA GT3 Cup victory under his belt
on May 11, it didn't take Wright Motorsports driver Sean Johnston long to climb
to the top of the podium again. The 21-year-old was victorious in Round 7
of the IMSA GT3 Cup Challenge by Yokohama last Sunday as the series supported
the Formula 1 Grand Prix of Canada at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve. Finishing
second overall was one of his Wright Motorsports teammates, as Fernando Peña
made it a one-two finish overall for the Batavia, Ohio-based super team.

Johnston led every lap of the non-stop, 15-lap contest on the 14-turn,
2.71-mile track after getting his first career BBS pole on Saturday with a new
track record of 1.42.394 (95.279 miles per hour). Johnston, of Mt. Shasta,
Calif., drives a 2012 Porsche 997 sponsored by Driscoll's Berries.

"I can barely believe it! It's been such an incredible
weekend! From my first wet driving experience in a Cup car on Friday, and my
first career pole position on Saturday, to my first flag-to-flag victory in my
life today, it's been an absolutely remarkable weekend!" Commented
Johnston after the race; "It was a tough challenge having only three short
sessions on track, but Wright Motorsports gave me a great, competitive car to
work with from session one and I couldn't be happier with the end result.
The crowd at this event was awesome as well! I could hear the crowd
cheering from inside my car on the cool-down lap after the checkered flag; it's
something I'll remember for the rest of my life! Overall, great weekend,
stoked on it, can't wait for our next race up in Mosport!"

Peña, of Minneapolis, started
third in a similar Porsche sponsored by Colours, Inc., but he vaulted into
second on the first lap after the driver who started second, Marcelli, spun in
Turn 1 and slipped to seventh.Fernando
Peña: "It was a very special weekend! Montreal was challenging because of the
limited track time, but also a delight because of the F1 crowd. Wright
Motorsports had another Platinum podium sweep. I am extremely happy for the
team and especially for John Wright. He continues putting on an amazing show in
the way he prepares our cars."

Johnston
in the Driscoll's Berries Porsche GT3 Cup leads the season long point's championship;
Madison Snow is third in points and with Wright Motorsports driver Kasey
Kuhlman sixth in point's just three points out of the top five.In the team Championship Wright Motorsports
leads with a 22 point margin.John
Wright and the crew from Batavia will be off to races at Virginia International
Raceway, Mosport Park Canada, Road America and Petit LeMans at Road Atlanta. The
complete schedule of the 15-race series can be found on the series' Web site at
imsachallenge.com.Additional information is on the team's
Web site at wrightmotorsports.com
and its Facebook page. Onboard video from Kasey Kuhlman's car is available at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0woHt3xONtA

The
Doran Racing Team from Lebanon recently signed Paul Tracy to pilot their
Dallara-Ford Daytona Prototype in the Rolex Series at the Indianapolis Motor
Speedway, following a good showing at the Daytona 24 Hour. After the Daytona 24 the Doran Team put
their effort into building a new Nissan 370Z for the Continental Tire Series in
Grand Am Racing with BJ Zacharias driving in this popular endurance
series.Debuting at Barber
Motorsports Park near Birmingham Alabama, the team did not have any test time
so practice 1 saw the car turn its first wheel.Zacharias qualified the car very well, just outside the top
ten, a remarkable effort for a new untested machine.The race did not produce the same successful result though,
Fred Zacharias wrote to tell us this "Unfortunately,
after a good qualifying run out of the box - 11 th, BJ got taken out in turn
one on the start. The car was hit really hard by a bone head move by one
of the Mustangs ...you don't win a 3 hour race on the start." Having
viewed the incident several times I can attest it was a hard impact and a text
book example of how to not make any friends on the job, check it out at this
link http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DJpm5xLlvlo&feature=related.
"The car spent 2 weeks in the
frame shop getting the chassis aligned back up. The hit sheared the motor
mounts and did a pretty good job on the frame and the car itself ...but hey,
the right door and the hood were still good."Zacharias added "The belief is that the car has great
potential and in its short exposure at Barber caught the eye of a lot of the
competitors. Hopefully after M-O they will have more to talk about.After M-O, the plan is to run the rest
of the season."Even though the
debut was short lived the Doran Team got enough feedback, assessed the
performance and developed a plan for enhancing the performance, with the car
being completely disassembled for repair now is the optimal time to make those
upgrades.Zacharias added "The
only good thing is this has given us a chance to improve on some things with
the car."

Fred
Zacharias had shared those thoughts prior to the Mid-Ohio Round of the
Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge June 8; apparently the Doran Team did an
excellent job repairing the 370Z, it qualified on the pole for the race and ran
strong all day.At the end of the
race the Doran Nissan Motorsports/GT Academy 370Z with BJ Zacharias at the wheel
was in the lead scrum of twelve, making some aggressive moves in the last two
laps Zacharias pushed the car to an eighth place finish.A fantastic result after a rough start
to the season, rebounding to get pole and a top ten with an unproven car is a testament
to the talent in the Doran Team.

At
Road America last weekend the Nissan GT Academy 370 Z again proved to be stout
competitor securing another top ten with a seventh place finish in the three
hour endurance contest.The Doran
team is off to a strong start with this Nissan, a pole and two top ten finishes
in the first three races against the array of manufacturers such as Porsche,
Chevy, Ford, and BMW is a significant accomplishment for the team from Lebanon
Ohio.

An excellent
opportunity to see the Doran Nissan 370Z is at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway
Friday July 27. http://www.grand-am.com/ScheduleResults/ContinentalTire.aspx.The Doran Daytona Prototype will be
competing at in Indy in the Rolex Series that day also; Kevin and the crew will
be working overtime that Friday.

The
Paul's Automotive Engineering Team has finished well recently at Mid-Ohio Sports
Car Course with Brian Faessler in the American Iron Ford Mustang and is looking
forward to having Paul on track later this year with the American Iron Extreme
Mustang.Recently Joe O'Gorman
from Full Throttle Karting told me that Full Throttle will sponsor Brian
Faessler in the Paul's Automotive Engineering Ford Mustang in NASA competition.Brian has added working out at Full
Throttle facility to his regimen of physical fitness; karting keeps the senses
sharp and the reflexes quick, most professional drivers use karting throughout
their careers as part of their training routine.Congratulations to both Full Throttle Karting and
Brian Faessler on their new association.See the Paul's Automotive Engineering Mustangs at NASA events at
Mid-Ohio, Putnam Park and elsewhere.

Scott
Rettich and the Alliance Autosport Team have been racing several cars in
several different series with some very good results.The Daytona 24 was a rough go for the team, but they
preserved to the finish with their Porsche GT 3.After the twice around the clock spectacle at Daytona the Alliance
Autosport team switched back to open wheeled cars for their debut in the Cooper
Tires USF2000 powered by Mazda series.The first races were held at one of the world's most iconic tracks in
Sebring Florida, which was very good to Scott Rettich and the Alliance
Autosport team.Rettich, who won
an SCCA "Runoffs" National Championship in the same car in 2011, left Sebring second
in points with a second and third place finishes after leading in the PDI
Communications car.The next race
for the Alliance Team was in St. Pete during the Indy Car event; the street and
airport circuit suited Rettich's talents well and he qualified on the
pole.The race however
proved to be more difficult when harum-scarum type incidents resulting in
partial track blockages allowed competitors to slip by resulting in a third and
fourth place finishes.Scott and
the Alliance Autosport Team ventured to Virginia international Raceway and for
two victories at the SCCA races.The Cooper Tires USF2000 Powered by Mazda is scheduled to visit Mid-Ohio
Sports Car Course August 4/5 during the Indy Car/American LeMans Series
weekend, which is always a premier weekend for race goers.

John
Edwards has been active in Grand-Am racing driving Chevrolet Camaros for
Stevenson Motorsports in both the Rolex GT and Continental Tire Sports Car
Challenge.The season started well
for John with a fourth place finish in the Daytona 24, however a knee injury
sidelined him for the next two races at Barber Motorsports Park and Homestead
Miami Speedway. The New Jersey
Motorsports Park rounds saw Edwards back in the cars and right back on form,
grabbing the Pole Position in the Rolex GT and a second place finish after a
hard fought race with the winning Ferrari 458 Italia.The Continental Tire series provided an even tougher
challenge with the Stevenson Camaro back in the field after a first lap
incident resulted in a flat tire, another flat tire dropped the team to 19th,
however some late race good fortune resulted in a 12th place
finish.John drove at Mid-Ohio
Sports Car Course June 8-10 in the Rolex GT Series and Continental Tire Series
and figured predominantly in both races.The Rolex GT was a close race all day with the Stevenson Camaro tussling
about the in top three with BMW and Ferrari; at the checkered flag the Edward's
Camaro was third ahead of Mazda and Porsche entries.The Stevenson Motorsports Camaro Continental Tire Series
entry finished fifth at Mid-Ohio in the support race for the Rolex series; John
Edwards kept the car in the lead pack and involved in some of the closest
racing of the day.

When
the Rolex GT Series visited Road America last weekend John Edwards' Chevrolet
Camaro was in the top three for most of the race, swapping positions with
Ferrari, BMW, Mazda and Corvette right up to the last blast up the hill to the
finish line.Edwards' teammate
Robin Liddell faded a bit at the end of the race with worn tires but remained
in the top five.The Continental
Tire sports Car Challenge race at Road America was a wild affair as the series
always puts on a spectacular show.John Edwards in the Stevenson Autosport Camaro GS.R secured a sixth
place finish in the three hour contest; see the race on Speed TV July 8 at
noon.

Indianapolis
Motor Speedway is the closest opportunity to see John Edwards drive the
Stevenson Camaros in the Rolex and Continental Tire series on Friday July 27.The entire Grand-Am schedule is
available at http://www.grand-am.com/ScheduleResults/Rolex.aspx.Edwards is currently 11th in
Rolex GT points despite missing two rounds, the Stevenson Camaro is third in
manufacturers points championship standings.A quick view of the Stevenson Camaro at IMS is available at
this link.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E9j7Q_bQY1Q

The
Indianapolis Motor Speedway will be hosting the inaugural Super Weekend at the
Brickyard with four races in three days on two tracks at one venue.Friday is the day for the Sports Cars
and Road Racing on the GP circuit added to spice up the weekend.The GP circuit at Indy offered some
very nice viewing areas on grass mounds at the south end of the Human Blvd
Straight and some excellent views from the stands.The race is at 4 pm; a seat across the main straight and
from the pits will have the sun at your back and maybe some shade for added
comfort.The Continental Tire race
is a 2.5 hour contest starting at 1 pm...All the tickets are general admission, which is the norm in sports car
racing, allowing one to move around the track and get a variety of views during
the day; the grandstands are part of the general admission access.More information on tickets and
schedules is here; http://www.indianapolismotorspeedway.com/brickyard400/eventinfo/43163-2012-Brickyard-400-Schedule/.John Edwards, BJ Zacharias, and Doran
Racing will be competing; rumors are swirling about that the Wright Motorsports
Team will have a Porsche ready for the Rolex GT also-look for them July 27 in
Indy.

The
24 Hours of LeMans was swept by Audi, the winning car having diesel/electric
hybrid power.The coverage on Speed
TV included a significant amount of
time in the Audi pits; here the commentators would find College Corner's own
Brad Kettler as part of the brain-trust that keeps Audi winning.LeMans is the biggest auto race in the World;
it is like having Indy, Daytona, Sebring and the Monaco GP all at one time at
the same track.To have a local
racer involved with winning the twice around the clock classic is a tremendous
testament to the talent here in the tri-state.This is not Brad Kettler's first experience with winning at
the Circuit Le Sarthe either; he has been there for other Audi wins
too-Congratulations to Brad for another job well done.The LeMans race has quite a history
with drivers and team managers from the Cincy area, Kevin Doran and John Wright
have also been very successful in western France in recent years, while the
area's most recent entrant/driver was Larry Schumacher in a Porsche.More to come on this topic in another
issue.